21sts: Twenty Firsts
by Infinite Inficio
Summary: [Koutarou centric][KoutaJulie][slight AkaKouta] There is a first time for everything. Matters concerning American Football, smart kicking, or Julie are no exceptions.


_Made for the 20 Plays community in LJ, where you have to write twenty "facts" about Eyeshield 21 characters._

_I don't own Eyeshield 21, or else Bando Spiders would win the Christmas Bowl, and Koutarou would appear way, **way** more often._

* * *

**21sts: Twenty Firsts**

1. The first time Koutarou saw an American football match, he was ten, still young and not very smart. He walked past the field without giving it a second glance.

However, the second time he saw an American football match, he was twelve, and smart enough not to miss out on such a splendid thing. He stayed long enough to see the kicker in action.

The kick was a particularly smart— no, _beautiful_ one, too, that Koutarou swore that he was in love, and someday, he would be able to kick like that as well.

2. The first time Koutarou tried to "kick like that" he sprained his ankle, and had to hop all the way home with Julie supporting him.

It wasn't very smart of him- in fact, it was so stupid that even Julie didn't have the heart to smack him on the head for it.

After whingeing and moaning for a few days, _'There's always next time!'_ he thought.

Koutarou promised to himself to practice until he could get it right, even if he had to sprain _both_ of his ankles! Yeah, that's smart!

Later on, he, quite inevitably sprained both of his ankles. Julie started to watch over him whenever he practices kicking after the incident, and told him that she _never ever_ wants to carry him on his back again.

He never sprained his ankle ever since.

3. The first day he was in high school, he immediately signed up for American football.

He wanted to be the first one to do so, but some guy with red hair beat him to it.

Because unfortunately, it was the highest it could go, he picked 99 for his jersey number.

But it doesn't matter! Nobody can get a perfect 100, and nobody can get any closer to it than him.

Julie became manager because Koutarou became a kicker— Koutarou kicked ten footballs through the goalposts, right through the middle, in her honour.

The previously-mentioned guy with red hair raised his eyebrow, but nobody saw this because it was hidden behind his sunglasses.

4. The first time he went to practice was also the first time he saw the red-haired guy (nowadays referred to as "Akaba" or "bastard") play. He was too absorbed in seeing him tackle with _so much ease_, Koutarou didn't even start practicing right away like he intended.

For the first time, Koutarou thought that maybe Akaba was a smart kind of guy (and it seemed like the others thought so, too).

But when Akaba started playing his guitar and talking about rhythm while practicing, Koutarou's opinion of him somewhat decreased (and it seemed like the others' opinions did, too).

Koutarou repeatedly claimed to Akaba that it also the last time he thought the bastard was a smart kind of guy, but Akaba would sigh coolly to this.

The "bastard" said that apparently, he knew it was untrue.

_'Anyone smarter than _you_ would.' _

He really is an unsmart bastard.

5. The first time Koutarou participated in a match, Bando Spiders won against Tamagawa Blue Sharks, and it was all thanks to his kicks.

Or so he told Julie, and she responded with no words, but with a (not-so) friendly smack on the head to get some modesty into his head instead.

6. The first time Julie was sick and couldn't watch over him practicing his kicks, Koutarou sprained his ankle after so many years of not doing so.

Akaba offered (read as "glanced at, through his glasses") some icing for it, but Koutarou refused to be pitied by an unsmart guy like him, and hopped all the way from school, without Julie supporting him.

He hopped towards Julie's house, with the intention of making her promise not to be absent on the days the American Football team practices.

Julie told him that there was absolutely no way he could make her promise to do such an idiotic thing.

7. The first time Koutarou felt that Julie was more than just a friend to him was _not_ when she came to watch over him practicing while sneezing more than ten times in a row— _constantly_.

It was actually in the end of the week (in which Julie was absent except for the days when football practice was held), when Koutarou realised Julie didn't need him to make her promise to do such an unsmart thing.

8. The first time Koutarou lost, he blamed himself for not being able to do more than just kick.

Julie told him that he was just being silly- Bando was considered as a kick team, anyway, so it's not _just_ kicking.

Well, if that's how it was going to be, then he was going to be the best high-school kicker!

Koutarou smiled— he was still a kicker because Julie was still his manager.

9. The first time Koutarou actually got into a fight with Akaba was not something he'd like to recall.

He made Julie upset, and angrily kicked the wall in his bedroom because it wasn't his first time doing so.

His sister repeatedly yelled at him for making such a racket when he _knew_ that the wall was made out of cheap material and that she _knew_ she should've picked the room furthest away from his.

Koutarou kicked his desk instead, trying to be nice, but his sister was just too hard to please.

10. The first time he apologised to Akaba was also not something he'd like to recall (Koutarou _swore_ Akaba had a smug look on his face, you just can't see it!).

Koutarou even thought, _'Hey, maybe we could work together and form a smart team!'_

Yeah! That's the way to go.

The next day, Koutarou spat on Akaba's most beloved guitar for defending the kick team.

Koutarou refused to apologise for such a trivial thing.

11. The first time Koutarou was truly disappointed with Akaba was when the bastard transferred to Kansai's Teikoku Gakuen without even telling him he was _aware_ of it (or why he didn't refuse the offer straight away).

The bastard didn't even think about the seniors, or the approaching Kantou tournament, or _Julie_.

Koutarou had no idea why he didn't run up to the other starters, but it might be because he was disappointed with them from the start.

'You guys are all... not smart...

Not smart...'

12. The first time Akaba apologised to him, it was very awkward.

13. The first time the field became emptier because of the transferred starters, Akaba started holding the ball up for Koutarou whenever he wanted to practice kicking.

'I don't need anything from you,' Koutarou huffed.

'I'm not giving you anything,' Akaba coolly replied.

Koutarou merely kicked the ball, tempted to kick Akaba's face in the process, but decided not to do it because Akaba was smart enough to come back.

_Fuu..._

Akaba was still a Bando Spider because Koutarou was still a kicker.

14. The first time Koutarou faced Oujou, Akaba was the one watching.

Koutarou became the new ace.

He made two kicks, making Bando Spiders the only team to score any points against them in the Tokyo Tournament.

If only Akaba could play!

Koutarou flicked his comb and ran it through his hair. 'Don't worry! We can still go to the Kantou Tournament!' he tried to encourage.

This only made the seniors panic more.

_Oh,_ if only Akaba could play!

They lost in the first round.

15. The first time Koutarou found a rival, Musashi the 60-yard Magnum, he went to Deimon Private High School straight away to challenge him, much to Julie's (and to an extent, Akaba's) dismay.

He found out that his rival's title was a big fat lie and that he was a carpenter.

'Fuu... skipping out practice, just to make your rhythms unbalanced? Not something I would call smart.'

Koutarou was really, _really_ tempted to kick Akaba's face for no reason at all, but decided not to because Akaba, with Julie, waited for him to come back.

Wait— _with Julie? _

That bastard.

16. The first match Koutarou played in the Autumn Tournament with only the kick team left, Bando Spiders won against Nansei Hawks after finally receiving three points from a kick.

The second match Koutarou played against Oujou, Bando Spiders lost, after receiving three points from a kick. But it doesn't matter, because next time, _Akaba-san could play! _

Koutarou huffed— how about Koutarou-san who managed to get them this far?

Well, maybe Akaba's teachings helped a bit.

It helped a lot, Koutarou guessed, but still...

17. The first match Koutarou played against his rival was the first time he missed a kick, and Bando Spiders lost the kick game because he thought too much about his comrades.

Koutarou cried, and blamed himself for not dong a raft kick, but Julie didn't scold him for it, because she was crying, and blaming herself too.

But with a newfound determination, Koutarou announced-

'You'll see... we'll become stronger! Next year, Bando Spiders will win with the kick game!'

Akaba, the only one who didn't shed tears, unexpectedly added, 'Yeah... Yeah! Without fail!'

18. The first time Koutarou saw Akaba smile was something that would be engraved into his mind forever (by forever, Koutarou _meant _forever). Akaba coolly sighed and pushed back his sunglasses as he handed over a very important title to Kobayakawa Sena, Deimon's running back.

_'Then don't lose against anyone else! I wouldn't forgive you!'_

Koutarou never _did_ understand Akaba.

But maybe that was because he would be too stubborn to even _think_ of handing over a title- there was no way in hell Koutarou was going to hand over the title of the number one kicker to Musashi _that _easily!

19. The first day of Koutarou's third-year was a particularly memorable one. He asked Julie to go out with him for the seventh time, and surprisingly, she accepted.

For some unknown reason, it was also the first time Koutarou saw Akaba more aggravated than when he tried to wreck the guy's guitar.

It was also the first time Koutarou saw Akaba too frustrated to play his guitar, too annoyed to open doors properly, and too absent-minded to listen to the teachers.

Then Koutarou reached a mildly frightening conclusion.

'Do you..._ like _Julie?

The red-haired boy paused, before he pushed back his sunglasses, and sighed.

'Don't worry about it,' he said dryly. 'Let's go home.'

Koutarou never _did_ understand Akaba.

20. The last match Koutarou played in high school was the Christmas Bowl.

It was also the _only_ time he and Akaba were going to go against the ones who betrayed them—Kansai's Teikoku Gakuen.

It was the first time Bando Spiders won the Christmas Bowl, but certainly not the last! (Because Koutarou would never forgive them if it was)


End file.
